Lieberman wants to ban Al Jazeera from Israel

Israel’s FM also says Hamas political bureau, Khaled Mashal needs to be killed off

Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called on Monday to kill off the leader of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Mashal, saying “it is the only way to prevent future tunnels and hurt Hamas.”

“Mashal is the financier and he is the one responsible for the attacks against Israel,” the minister said.

Lieberman also slammed Qatar and the television station that operates in it – AL Jazeera.

“Qatar has become a global problem,” Lieberman said during his meeting with Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Louise Mushikiwabo. “Qatar is the financial backbone of radical terrorist groups, which destabilize the world in general, and specifically the Middle East. Qatar is also a central figure in our conflict with Hamas,” he added.

According to the FM, “Al Jazeera, also financed by Hamas, plays an important role in Hamas’ propaganda campaign. Al Jazeera does not even bother to appear as a reliable news outlet for the sake of appearance. It broadcasts to Gaza and the world anti-Israeli incitement, lies, provocations and it encourages terrorists to act.”

Lieberman said that he is looking into the possibility of banning AL Jazeera from broadcasting in Israel. “All the big networks operate in Israel, some of them are not exactly pro-Zionist, and yet as a democratic state we allow them operate here. In the case of AL Jazeera it is not an issue of freedom of the media but of a terrorist wing that currently fights against Israel,” he pointed out.

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Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is setting his sights on Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV, and is looking to stop them operating in Israel.

According to the International Business Times, Lieberman said, “Qatar has turned into a global problem. Al Jazeera is a central pillar of the propaganda apparatus of Hamas.” Israel’s Channel Seven news reports that Lieberman made the comments during a meeting with the Rwandan foreign minister. Haaretz’s diplomatic correspondent Barak Ravid tweeted the news earlier today:

The International Business Times quotes Ravid as saying that Israel is looking to ban Al Jazeera, just as the United Kingdom would not allow Nazi publication Der Sturmer, or the United States would not permit broadcasting on al-Qaeda TV. Al Jazeera is based in Doha; Lieberman considers it a “propaganda machine” that peddles lies and encourages terrorists, according to Channel Seven.

“It constitutes the economic backbone of terrorist groups in the most extreme sense, aiming to destabilize the world in general and the Middle East in particular,” Channel Seven quotes Lieberman as saying. Several Israeli journalists work for Al Jazeera.

Israel believes that Qatar is funding Hamas, which control Gaza and are currently engaged in fighting with Israel.

Earlier today, Lieberman called for the boycotting of Arab-owned businesses of those who are taking part in a strike protesting against the Israel Defense Forces. Haaretz reports that Lieberman’s Facebook post read: “I call upon everyone not to shop anymore at the stores and businesses of those among the Arab sector who are participating today in the general strike that was declared by the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee as a sign of empathy for Gaza residents and against Operation Protective Edge.”

The death toll in the conflict now stands at more than 500, and has increased significantly over the past few days.